Code: LeoKo
by Burakku's Shadow
Summary: A circus runaway inadvertently stumbles upon a group with a secret. This secret happens to control the fate of the world, and it’s in danger. How will he be able to help them?
1. Searching

**Genre**: Adventure/Fantasy

**Rating**: K 

**Media**: Code: Lyoko

**Disclaimer**: Code: Lyoko belongs to _MoonScoop_ and _AnteFilms_. Code: Leo-Ko belongs to Mewberries.

**Summary**: A circus runaway inadvertently stumbles upon a group with a secret. This secret happens to control the fate of the world, and it's in danger. How will he be able to help them?

**A/N**: If you didn't take the hint already, this whole thing doesn't belong to me at all. All reviews should be directed to her. I'll set a hyperlink in my profile so you all can see the pictures, though! Oh…some of the descriptions for the characters may be a little off for the pictures, so… ;

Code: Leo-Ko

Stretching out before the line of thick trees was a wide span of grassy plains, the plants burned gold from the African sun. Here and there dotted a tree or two, but beyond the jungle line there weren't very many of the bark-covered plants. The area seemed mysteriously vacant, until you got a closer look at the grass.

Dashing across the plains was a small deer-like animal, its orange fur semi-blending with the grass. The calf was still very young, its horns having not grown in yet. Dark eyes were wide in fear, a desperate bleating squeal escaping its throat.

Following close behind was what almost appeared to be a lion, only different. Its fur was a strange purplish-brown and was matted in a lot of places, and the tip of the tail lacked the tuft of fur found on most ordinary lions. Azure eyes were wide with anticipation, its maw opened and the tongue lolling out slightly. The prey made a sharp dash to the left and the predator couldn't turn as sharply, sliding to a stop and panting. Sky-blue eyes watched in despair as the gazelle bounded away and back to its mother.

"Stupid Lera," he sighed tiredly, slowly making his way to the jungle with his head bowed and tail low. When he made it, he fell in a heap of exhaustion. His gnawing stomach growled, but there was nothing to fill it, and this made the young hunter sad and lonely.

"I never should've run away…" His thoughts drifted back to the circus he had traveled with, and although they were cruel to him, at least they gave him food. Now, he had nothing and was too weak, too inexperienced, to try hunting (though that didn't stop him from trying).

Struggling back to his paws, he padded over to his usual sleeping area and lay down, back against the gray-white rock. Resting his chin on his paws, he let consciousness slip away from him.

-Lera-Varg-Putnar-Sikla-

He sneezed before he was even aware that he was awake and found himself on his haunches when he opened his eyes. Rubbing a paw against his nose, azure eyes migrated to the perpetrator responsible for his arousal.

Standing before him was a dust-brown lion with chocolate eyes and a patch of dark-brown fur on top of his head as well as the tip of his tail. An amused smirk vaguely contorted his muzzle as he said, "Rise and shine, sleepy-head."

Sky-blue eyes widened in surprise. Tilting his head and raising an eye-ridge, he leaned forward a bit and the tip of his tail began to twitch. "Uh…hi?"

The other lion returned the same look. "Is that all you've got to say?"

Smiling sheepishly, the slightly smaller predator stood up and raised his tail. He was happy that he was no longer alone. "So, er…are there any others?"

"Pft, of course there are," the other responded, waving a paw at him. "But…well, let's just say I'm having problems with my parents and I'd rather stay away from the pride for a few suns." With this said, he leisurely padded to his side and sat down. "Alright if I stay with you 'till then?"

Again, azure eyes widened. "You'll really stay with me?" His excitement over not being alone was going sky-high in a matter of milli-seconds.

The same smirk rematerialized onto his muzzle. "Unless you turn into a human during a full moon, I think I'll be fine. By the way, I'm Ulrich."

"I'm Odd," responded the purplish hunter, giving a broad grin. "By name and personality."

Ulrich raised an eye-ridge. "I'm willing to believe that." Looking around a bit, he asked, "Do you have a pride?"

Odd looked down guiltily. "No…" He was about to tell him about the circus he came from, but instead clamped his fangs together and kept quiet about it.

"So you're a Sikla, then."

Odd looked sharply at the somewhat larger lion and flicked his tail. "How can I be a Sikla when I don't belong in a pride?"

Ulrich shrugged visibly. Noting the low irritable growl from the other, he changed the subject somewhat. "At least you're a Putnar."

The smaller, skinnier cat smiled at the animalistic word for "hunter" and a light purr began to rumble inside his throat. It died out quickly when the brown cat added, "Even if you aren't a proper one."

His ears flattened and he lowered his head as azure eyes once again landed on chocolate ones. "Have you ever tried hunting by yourself and completely by yourself?" He scoffed when the other replied no. "I thought so. It's harder than it looks."

"Is that why you're so scrawny?"

"I am _not_ scrawny! I'm svelte."

"Uh-huh, sure." Extending and retracting his claws, Ulrich explained, "I never really needed to hunt. But that was because Kadic always supplied the food."

Odd gave him a curious look. "Kadic?"

"Yeah," he responded as if it were oh-so-obvious what it was. "The school. Every cub in the pride goes there."

"Oh." Azure eyes lowered to his paws as a feeling of stupidity swept over him. His body wracked with an abrupt shudder as a thought surfaced in his mind. "Are there any Varg here?"

"If you mean Wild Dogs, yes. If you mean wolves, no."

"Okay," he muttered, holding back from sighing. "Just wanted to know." Although he had been trying to survive here for a few days (approximately a week in human estimation), he still didn't completely know what lurked beyond the jungle line and the small area of the savanna he had been exploring.

Ulrich looked up at the darkening sky and lay down. "I'm getting tired," he said, resting his chin on one of his paws.

"I'll stand guard, since I've already slept," volunteered Odd, raising a paw and grnning.

Giving his new friend a small smile of appreciation, he closed his eyes and immediately drifted off to sleep.

-Lera-Varg-Putnar-Sikla-

Ulrich and Odd were padding along beside each other, staying at the edge of the jungle yet not going too far out into the plains. They were nearing the edge of the territory Odd had become accustomed to, and when they went past that point, he had to try and figure out what Ulrich was up to.

"Where are we going?"

"To the pride," the brown lion answered simply, looking at his companion. "Or I am, anyway. You don't have to come if you don't want to."

Azure eyes widened in anticipation and a purplish tail raised. "I want to come, if that's not too much trouble."

The brown lion shrugged, returning his gaze to the invisible trail before him. "Alright, but we need to get you cleaned up. And I'm not licking you."

The purplish cat looked at his own matted fur and then over to Ulrich's sleek coat and almost instantly a wave of shame washed over him. He hadn't thought about cleanliness, despite being a cat.

They began to approach a small glittering pond among the foliage in the jungle, and Odd couldn't help but smirk at the idea that suddenly leapt into his mind. Turning to Ulrich, he asked, "Does anyone drink out of that pond?"

His nose wrinkled as he frowned at the lake. "No, not generally…"

"Good." Grinning foolishly, he pranced into the water and let the liquid soak into his fur. "So now I can take a bath." He just chuckled as his friend rolled his eyes.

"Alright, but I'm not watching over you. If a hyena sneaks up and attacks you, don't blame me."

Shrugging, he paddled his way into deeper water and completely submerged himself.

While that was happening, the brown lion padded out into the open plains, stationing himself under a tree that just happened to be close to the jungle line. He smirked as he watched two hares chase each other from burrow to burrow and occasionally stop to fight with each other (rearing up on their hind legs and slapping each other with their fore-paws, ending the match with a twirl and a kick and dashing in separate directions). After a few moments of watching this, he got bored and looked around some. All he saw was a giraffe and a small herd of zebras off to the distance. Nothing too interesting about them, especially if you couldn't hunt them. Flicking an ear back, he heard Odd's voice.

"Done!"

Ulrich looked back behind him and chocolate eyes widened in surprise.

Instead of purplish brown fur that matted everywhere, Odd's coat gleamed a vibrant purple, and running vertically all along his body were pinkish stripes that started around his neck and traveled all along the length of his back and to the tip of his tail. His paws were faded to a near white and there was a diamond of yellow on his forehead. Odd stood there proudly, head and tail held high, showing off his cleaner appearance.

The brown lion raised an eye-ridge. "…wow. Just…wow."

The purple lion-tiger laughed happily at his friend's amazement. "Well, don't just sit there looking dumb-struck," he chuckled, padding over under the tree with him. "Take me to your pride."

Ulrich grinned. "Alright, then," he said, standing up and walking in the general direction they were heading for in the first place. "Let's get going. You know, I didn't think your colors would be that bright."

"They could be brighter, but I thought this was clean enough."

"Huh, no kidding."

They walked on like this, talking to each other about a variety of things (though Odd kept quiet about the circus, still) and continuing to get well acquainted with each other.

After a few more minutes (reaching close to about a half hour in human proximity) Ulrich began leading Odd into the jungle on a well-worn path, which clearly meant that it was frequently used. "This takes us to Kadic," he explained when the purple Putnar gave him a questioning look.

After a few more paces, the brown lion instructed Odd to close his eyes.

Azure locked onto chocolate in bewilderment. "Do what now?"

"Close your eyes," Ulrich repeated, turning a little and slowly waving his tail in front of Odd's face. "Hold on to my tail and close your eyes. I'll tell you what'll be coming ahead of you, alright?"

Feeling uncertain, he tentatively locked his jaws around his friend's tail and closed his eyes. When he felt the tail tug between his teeth, he cautiously began to follow.

"Pothole, shift right," Ulrich instructed, moving toward the right himself. Odd tried to do so, too, but one of his paws slipped into emptiness and he almost let go of the tail in his jaws.

"You okay back there?"

The purple feline nodded subtly, closed eyes tightening a little.

The rest of the time was spent with Ulrich leading Odd on through the jungle, giving fairly precise instructions to help his follower avoid possible injury. However, Odd's sense of smell and hearing told him where he was going. When the birdcalls began to cease, he knew that they were nearing an open plain. The shift from damp soil to gritty sand under his paws and the drier air told him that the jungle was left behind. He even eventually heard talking and laughter ahead of him. Not to mention the smell of food. His stomach growled, reminding him just how hungry he was.

At last, Ulrich stopped. "Okay, we're here. You can open your eyes, now."

Odd immediately opened his eyes and they bulged at what he saw.

In front of them lie a huge rock-like structure closely resembling a termite-mound, only more rectangular in shape. Square holes were set systematically all over the structure, revealing that the inside was mostly hollow. Walking around the inside of the structure, a large number of lions –both adults and cubs –walked on by the windows, many of them talking with each other.

The purple cat stepped forward, azure eyes looking around in awe. "Is this Kadic?"

Ulrich smiled at his companion's amazement. "Yep, this is it. Do you like it?"

Odd gave a delighted giggle. I _love_ it! Where do I start?"

"Or rather," started a deep, gruff voice from behind the two cubs, "_Where_ do you begin?"

Ulrich just simply turned his head around to look back while Odd spun completely around and almost shuddered.

Standing there was a large male lion with rust-red fur and a shaggy-brown mane. He had a pinkish scar over one eye and he appeared to be rather overweight.

"Hey, Jim," Ulrich greeted, slowly turning around to fully face the older lion. Odd still looked rather startled.

_This is nothing like the circus…_

Jim grinned at the brown cub before him. "Hello, Ulrich. Who's your new friend?"

"His name's Odd," he responded calmly. "He's visiting for awhile."

The redish lion nodded, looking at the purple cat. "So…what are you? Certainly not all lion."

"He's a Tigon," responded another cub, padding over to the other three. "Part tiger, part lion."

Jim raised an eye-ridge. "Thanks for clarifying, Jeremie."

Jeremie, a yellow lion with sapphire eyes and, strangely, a pair of spectacles, gave a brief smile before returning his attention to who he had classified as a Tigon.

"Anyway, Odd," started the oldest lion in the group, "You'll begin classes tomorrow. Your friends Ulrich and Jeremie can help you get acquainted with the system." With this said, he trotted away, heading toward another group of cubs.

Azure shifted from the oldest male toward Ulrich and Jeremie. "So…where do we start?"

The yellow lion motioned behind him with his head, giving the purple newcomer a friendly smile. "We'll show you around the school, first," he said, turning around and walking off. The other two quickly followed.

Inside the structure, Odd was amazed how cool it was in temperature. "Whoa…" Looking around himself, he found the very center was completely hollow. On the walls were ledges and inclines so that you could walk all the way to the top of the structure and back down, all the while walking by the many windows littering the walls. He found it all mesmerizing.

"This way, Odd," called the brown lion, already half-way up an incline and waiting for the young Tigon to follow. When Odd was at a satisfying distance, he continued on up and motioned for the yellow cub to continue on up.

An idea suddenly struck itself in the purple cat's mind like a flint striking a spark on some kindling. "Are there any cute girls here?"

Ulrich smirked, desperately fighting down a fit of giggles. Jeremie answered for his friend's sake.

"There are plenty of attractive girls," he responded simply, heading toward another incline that lead up to the third floor. "But I'd be careful about which one I choose if I were you."

Odd tilted his head curiously. "Why's that?"

"Hello, Ulrich!"

The purple cat's ears went up right away while the other two boys cringed, the lion in question groaning softly.

Padding toward then was a very svelte lioness with a sleek, yellowish-cream coat and a diamond of black on her forehead. Her leaf-green eyes locked immediately onto their intended "prey" as she opened her sleek muzzle in a seemingly innocent smile. "Nice day we're having," she chirped almost cheerfully, hugging her neck with her shoulders and lifting a paw in a friendly welcoming gesture.

Azure eyes not leaving the very attractive-looking female, he whispered to the brown lion, "Who's that?"

"Her name's Sissi," Ulrich growled in a very low tone (almost under his breath), eyeing the female warily. "She's the Dragga's daughter."

"So she's important, then?"

"Only if you think being the alpha's daughter makes her important."

Sissi came right up to Ulrich, lightly brushing her tail against his. "Who's your new friend?" she asked, her gaze finally landing on the striped "lion" on their far side.

Instead of waiting for him to make the introductions, the purple cat piped up, "I'm Odd. By name and personality."

She raised an eye-ridge playfully. "Really?" Lightly tapping Ulrich with her paw, she giggled, "I'll see you later then, sweetheart!" With that, she bounded back down the ramp-like structure to join a different group of males.

"She's interesting," Odd commented, watching her go for a few seconds before turning his attention back to his friend. A smirk graced his muzzle when the other only reacted by rolling his chocolate eyes.

"Are you two coming or what?" Jeremie asked impatiently, tapping one of his paws on the sandstone that served as flooring for the ledge. The other two bounded up the incline, and they all continued "down the floor" (which vaguely resembled a hallway in a school or apartment).

Almost instantly a black lioness with off-white paws and amber eyes padded over toward the male trio. "Hey, guys," she greeted, giving each of them a friendly smile. "Who's the new kid?"

Before he had a chance to even open his maw, Jeremie and Ulrich said in unision, "His name's Odd."

She raised her paw and flexed her claws in welcome. "Nice to meet you, Odd. I'm Yumi."

"Pleasure's all mine, Yumi," Odd said, tucking a paw underneath him and bowing with a grin. He had learned this trick at the circus, and he was hoping it'd impress her. Judging by her laugh, he'd say he succeeded.

"So…what classes will you be having?"

The purple cat tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Classes?"

The yellow cub shrugged his shoulders, seating himself right in front of a particularly large window. "He'll have the same classes as the rest of us."

"Cool." Yumi sat relatively close to where Jeremie was, but at a safe distance from the window and the ledge. "So first thing's first."

Before she could continue, a black shadowy substance crawled onto the ledge and thrust itself toward Jeremie. Sapphire eyes widened in alarm as he was knocked backwards by the entity and began to plummet.

"Jeremie!" Ulrich and Yumi were instantly at the window.

The black lioness's amber eyes glowed white and suddenly the yellow cat was levitating in the air, slowly ascending back to the window.

Odd stood there in shock, azure eyes wide and trembling slightly. Sure, he had seen levitation acts in the circus, but there were always strings and magnets to make it seem as if the human performers where floating in the air. But here, he knew there was nothing to help with any sort of illusion. This was real, and it scared him.

The brown lion growled in agitation. "Another attack?"

Azure shifted between Jeremie, Yumi and Ulrich. "A-Attack?"

"Odd…" Yumi started, turning her white gaze to the cub in question. "Can you keep a secret?"

Trembling, Odd realized that all eyes were on him. _Do I have any choice?_ Nodding, he quickly followed after the other three as they barreled down inclines and sprinted out of the school. In the jungle, he began experiencing trouble keeping up with them.

"We're almost there, Odd," Ulrich called over his shoulder, noticing how far behind his friend was getting. "Keep it up!"

After awhile, they stopped in front of a large pond with sparkling blue water and three large stones at the center. In front of the pond was a large slate rock that jutted out of the ground with pebbles settled in the mud before it. Jeremie seated himself on a bed of moss and started tapping his claws on the pebbles the same way a human would type on a keyboard. Almost instantly, a layer of water covered the large piece of slate which began to glow with binary codes.

"I'll go," stated Ulrich, leaping onto one of the stones set in the pond. Jeremie nodded.

Odd looked around in confusion. "What's going on?"

Yumi's amber gaze landed on the Tigon before retreating to the yellow cub. "Let's show him."

Again Jeremie nodded, but this time he turned his gaze from the screen to the purple cat. "Odd, step onto one of the stones."

Still rather confused, he watched the only female of the group leap onto one of the two available stones. There was only one left, and he decided it wouldn't be too bad to get on. He had no idea what his choice would do to him…but he was soon going to find out. As soon as he sat on the third stone, the water began to swirl around him almost like a cocoon. It shaped into a bright-blue cylinder and began to glow, scaring Odd even more. The color of the water brightened and brightened until he was engulfed in white light. A sudden lightness came over him and he could no longer feel the cold, smooth stone underneath his paws. Wind whipped at his fur as he seemed to hover in nothingness, then suddenly he felt as if he were falling. The blinding light began to fade when he finally landed on solid ground. Blinking, he looked around and was startled by his surroundings.

Instead of a jungle, the three cubs found themselves in a forest with a bright-blue sky instead of the gold sky he had remembered seeing before stepping onto the stone. The land had some strange division in it, being spread out on thin stretches instead of being a single land mass like the plains or the jungle's floor. Looking over the edge, Odd saw a long stretch of blue with binary coding that flowed in a specific direction like a river. Some of the trees seemed to just hover there above the see of binary codes, the roots winding down and ending just above the sea's surface.

"Whoa," he breathed out, looking around again. "What is this place?"

"It's called Leo-Ko," responded Ulrich, padding over to the purple cat.

Odd looked at his friend and his jaw nearly dropped open.

Ulrich now had yellow stripes on his legs and he wore a yellow belt-like article around his neck, a pendant on the front showing some sort of grotesque creature Odd vaguely remembered seeing in the circus. An Oni, he remembered the humans calling it.

"How did you change like that?" he asked, azure eyes taking in every new detail.

"We all change when he come to Leo-Ko," Yumi replied, taking a few steps forward. Instead of wearing a collar, she had a sash that draped over one shoulder and disappeared at her side underneath her body. The tip of her tail was singed red. "So do you, Odd."

Startled, he looked at himself. His paws were now a bright gold and there were pale yellow arrow markings on his wrists. He also wore a collar, except in was more like a scarf than anything else. It also had a pendant, except his was of a gray dog. "Dude!" he exclaimed, checking himself over and over. "I look cool!"

"Hello, Odd."

Azure eyes lifted to the owner of the new voice and this time his jaw nearly fell off in shock.

Standing before him was a pink lioness with creamy-colored paws and red earrings in one ear. Her sparkling emerald eyes peered straight at him, a warm smile gracing her muzzle. She had to be at least twice as pretty as Sissi, if not three times as pretty.

Odd was so enraptured by her beauty he hardly heard the black lioness greet, "Hi, Aelita."

Ulrich brushed his tail against Odd's to get his attention and gave him a warning look when he had it. The purple cat just smiled sheepishly in return.

"Are you guys ready?" Aelita asked, looking at the three newly-arrived lions.

Odd stared at her in confusion, tilting his head to the side. "Ready for what?"

Everyone turned to look at him and replied in unision, "To fight, of course."

**A/N2**: This took me longer to write than I thought it would…oh well. Review!


	2. Finding LeoKo

**Genre**: Adventure/Fantasy

**Rating**: K 

**Media**: Code: Lyoko

**Disclaimer**: Code: Lyoko belongs to _MoonScoop_ and _AnteFilms_. Code: Leo-Ko belongs to Mewberries.

**Summary**: Ah, you should know!

**A/N**: Yay, Mewberries approved! 8D And wow, I'm happy so many people like this idea -cough- Mossy -cough- Kittyclaw -cough, cough- Well, now that it's safe to continue, I present for the first time in the history I've been here, chapter two of:

Code: Leo-Ko

Odd stared in shock, slowly took a step back. "F-Fight?" They all nodded. "Against what?"

A glowing-red lazer fired between the purple cat and Aelita, causing them to draw back a bit. Looking toward the area of origin, they all saw giant, bee-like creatures with eyeless heads, three pairs of wings, and mossy-green stripes crossed all over their lime-green bodies. The creature at the front thrust its exaggeratedly large stinger forward, tossing another round of fire.

The pink lioness barely managed to dodge it. "_That_ is what you're fighting against," she answered, hiding behind Yumi (who stepped out in front of her).

Again, Odd stared at them. _Are they nuts!?_ He narrowly missed being head-butted by another creature that looked like some sort of strange bird with a single eye on its head and only three feathers on each wing. Swiping at its whip-like tail in defense (suddenly having an abrupt flash-back of the circus), a yellow object flew out of his wrist and hit the beast in the chest.

Ulrich smirked when he noticed this. "Congratulations, Odd," he called, disappearing in a burst of yellow light then reappearing right next to one of the killer bees in mid-air (which he slashed at with ridiculously long claws). "You've discovered your weapon." He landed as the monster disappeared in a puff of green smoke and confetti, his claws shrinking back to normal.

Azure eyes wide, he began to watch Yumi to see what she could do. He was confused when she didn't do anything right away and decided to just go ahead and continue fighting.

Without him being aware, a cobra-like creature had slithered silently behind him and was just about to strike when its target suddenly turned around and fired at it. Although it quickly dodged the attack, it slithered away in search of easier prey.

Odd pounced on the snake when he realized it was heading toward Aelita. "Bad boy!" Flicking his claws against the strange eye-like symbol on its hood, he released it as it exploded and bounded toward the swarm of bees to help Ulrich.

Amber eyes scanning the plateau, the black lioness flicked her tail and cautiously slinked past the swarm with the pink one in tow.

"Yumi, watch out!"

Hearing the brown lion's voice, Yumi twirled around and deflected the blast with a shield that materialized around her paws. Growling, she reared on her hind legs and slashed the air with her forepaws. Claw-shaped projectiles flew out and arced boomerang-style toward the swarm. "Head for the Tower!" she instructed, turning her attention to the lioness behind her.

Nodding, Aelita sprinted toward a cylindrical tube-like structure in the distance that glowed bright red. Odd quickly joined up with her.

"How'ya doin', Princess?" he asked somewhat playfully, trotting along beside her.

"I'm alright, thanks," she answered, looking around for any bees. "Just need to get to the Tower."

The purple Tigon nodded. "Okay, I'll protect you." Flicking an ear when he heard firing, he leapt into the air, spun around and crossed his paws in front of his chest to absorb the impact. Instead, to his amazement, a blue shield materialized and absorbed the impact for him. Landing on his paws, he laughed, "Is this place full of surprises or what?" Looking back behind him, he was surprised at what he saw.

Yumi and Ulrich leaping into the air, two remaining bees firing off another attack, all in slow motion. Well, except for Ulrich…he seemed to still be going at normal speed, only he had a faded-yellow, glowing ribbon trailing behind him.

Azure eyes widening in surprise, he bounded toward Yumi and pushed her out of the way of the bee's attack and fired off two arrows by flicking his wrists. They hit their target and the bee disappeared in a puff of green smoke and confetti.

"Odd…!" Yumi stared at him, her jaw open. "How'd you do that so fast?"

Odd shrugged, just now realizing that time sped back to normal. "I don't know." Azure eyes widened and a roar of surprise and pain escaped his maw as sharp pain exploded on his lower back and quickly spread throughout his entire body.

"Odd!" she gasped as he collapsed, quickly rushing to his side while Ulrich destroyed the last bee. "Are you okay?"

When the pain subsided, he shakily stood up. "I…I t-think so…" He wasn't sure he believed his own words, but it seemed to help calm the other two somehow. Looking around, he asked, "Did she make it?"

"_She's in the Tower,"_ responded Jeremie's voice wafting down from the sky, a sense of relief easily heard (as well as a touch of comfort). _"You guys can come back to Earth, now."_

"Okay if I go first this time?"

"Sure, Odd," Ulrich nodded. "Just take it easy for the first few moments, alright?"

The purple cat nodded as a spiral wind began to swirl around him, making him levitate a few feet in the air. Abruptly, a blinding light surrounded him and a strange sensation tingled his body. It felt similar to falling, only reversed. When he felt nothingness caress him, he just knew it was almost over. A cold, smooth surface made contact with the bottoms of his paws, and he couldn't help but open his eyes. Blue binary codes on a white background swirled around him, the white light fading into a blue that mixed with the codes. He was back on the stone with the water swirling around him in a cylindrical form. As he felt the last bit of nothingness leave him, the swirling blue liquid froze and fell back into the pond. Azure eyes widened as he nearly collapsed from the harsh wave of exhaustion that swept over him, leaving him gasping and panting.

"Odd?" The yellow lion turned his sapphire eyes to the Tigon still on the stone. "Are you alright?"

Nodding, he sucked in a deep breath and leapt to the shore, only bothering to make sure he landed on his paws and letting himself fall otherwise. Ignoring the somewhat alarmed look from the other, he just focused on breathing. He hardly noticed when Ulrich and Yumi arrive on their stones (except when they panted a little, too).

Ulrigh was the first to comment. "When you take it easy," he started, looking Odd "up and down" (from head to tail), "You really take it easy."

"According to this," Jeremie started, motioning his head toward the slate that was still abuzz with binary codes, "Odd took a nasty hit. From one of the Beze?"

Yumi nodded. "He was taking the hit for me. Though I don't know why," she added slowly, giving Odd a curious yet suspicious look, "When he could've easily dodged it with his speed."

The yellow lion shook his head. "Although he did use some special power, it didn't register as speed. Not like what Ulrich has, anyway. Rather, it was more like time alteration."

Odd lifted his head at this. "Is that what it's called?" Noticing everyone's stares, he explained, "It was like everything suddenly slowed down. Slow enough for me to figure out what was going to happen and do something about it."

They all continued to stare at him, though after awhile Jeremie turned back to the "screen" and resumed typing on the pebbles.

"Jeremie?" Yumi asked, her amber eyes turning toward the cub in question. "Do you think he could have that power here on Earth, too?"

The Tigon looked curiously between the two lions, almost forgetting about Ulrich (who was staring fixedly at the pond with both ears pointed toward his friends) and wondering what they were talking about.

Jeremie pondered her question for a few moments before answering her. "He could…but he'd have to have gone to Leo-Ko quite frequently before that's even likely."

Odd sat up on his haunches, a sudden occurrence hitting him. "Is that how Yumi could make you levitate? Because she went to Leo-Ko a couple of times?"

Ulrich scoffed. "More than a couple of times." He turned his head around so that chocolate eyes could make contact with azure ones. "She and I have been fighting there for many seasons."

"A little over then moon cycles," Yumi supported, nodding a little. Turning to Jeremie, she asked, "Is that the same as ten human months?"

The yellow lion nodded, giving a half-smile. "Yup. If tomorrow's test is all on human time-lengths, I'm sure you'll get an 'A'."

Odd tilted his head to the side and swished his tail once to the right. "Okay…I'm confused."

The brown lion smirked. "Don't worry, Odd," he said, padding over to the purple cat. "Since you're a new student, I don't think they'll make you take the test."

"Speaking of the school," Jeremie cut in, tilting his muzzle skyward, "I think it's about time we headed back. Besides, it's dinner time."

He didn't have to say "dinner" more than once to get an enthusiastic Tigon to leap to his paws with a broad grin. "Alright! I'm starved!"

**A/N2**: Sorry it's so short, but I thought this'd be a good stopping point. Besides, we'll pick up next chapter with another attack. Anyway…review!


	3. Invitation from an Enemy

**Genre**: Adventure/Fantasy

**Rating**: K

**Media**: Code: Lyoko

**Disclaimer**: Code: Lyoko belongs to _MoonScoop_ and _AnteFilms_. Code: Leo-Ko belongs to Mewberries.

**Summary**: Ah, you should know!

**A/N****: **I'm sorry this is coming in so freaking late –also, sorry for shortness! First, I had a bit of a writer's block as to how this chapter should come out (not to mention problems with life in general), then a virus decided to come and incapacitate the whole system AND wipe out all pre-existing files –including notes for all of my stories –and I lost all of my hand-written notes. Again, I'm so, _so_ sorry!! Please don't kill me…!

_Invitation from an Enemy_

Azure eyes wondered about the small cave that he was told to call a classroom, observing all the other lions in said class; Yumi and Ulrich weren't too far off, but Jeremie had a different class. Although the Tigon was happy that he had someone familiar with him in the class, he only wished they were closer to him so they could talk.

He sagged a little, bored with having to stay seated in one place the whole time.

_Man, this class is so _boring_!_

Quietly spreading some sand over the small rectangular space in front of him –he was told to call it his workspace –he began to make crude doodles with one of his claws, looking up occasionally to make sure that the only adult lion in the room –an old, gray lioness with a stripe of red around her neck and white paws called Mrs. Hertz –wasn't coming over to investigate.

After a few minutes of doodling, he reset the sand on his workspace. Thinking critically, he was about to start doodling again when the teacher –or so he was told to call Mrs. Hertz such –called his name.

"Yes?" he replied calmly, though his heart was pounding in his chest.

The old lioness narrowed her dark-brown eyes at the purple cub slightly, tilting her muzzle noticeably. "Are you paying attention to my lesson?"

"Yeah," he lied, the tip of his tail twitching slightly.

"Then what was I just talking about?" She made a vague motion toward the wall with her tail, which was scratched in a noticeable rhythm known as writing.

"Uh…" Quickly scanning the wall, the half-lion answered, "You were talking about the migration patterns of, um…gazelles?"

Mrs. Hertz raised an eye ridge. "Very good, Odd. Now, as I was saying…"

Odd sighed quietly in relief, sagging slightly and his tail relaxing beside him. He then resumed doodling, which were becoming progressively more recognizable.

A few minutes later, a load roar from the Dragga signified the end of the class, and the cubs instantly stood up and headed toward the only real exit of the room.

The brown lion and black lioness quickly trotted to the purple Tigon.

"So?" Ulrich started, tilting his head enquiringly. "What do you think of your first class?"

"Boring," Odd stated instantly, lowering his head and flicking his tail. "Why do we need classes, anyway?"

"Don't expect _me_ to know," the brown lion answered, shrugging subtly.

Yumi rolled her amber eyes. "Presumably, it's to get an education, but I don't think anyone really knows, anymore."

The half-lion gave a small snort. "Bogus, if you ask me."

"Ditto," the other two said simultaneously, nodding in agreement.

Exiting the hollow structure, the threesome met up with Jeremie by a strange-looking boulder that had liquid trickling out of a small hole in one if its sides.

Approaching their meeting spot, Odd suddenly had a feeling that something wasn't quite safe. However, when he looked around the open space, he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

"Hey, guys," greeted the sapphire-eyed lion, smiling. The smile quickly left when, out of the bush beside the boulder, came out a bright-green snake with a familiar eye-like symbol on its hood and attempted to strike at his throat.

The purple feline leapt into action instantly, slashing at the hood and chasing the snake away. Panting slightly, he returned to the others, azure eyes looking at each of them questioningly. "What was that about?"

"I think…" Ulrich lowered his head, narrowing his eyes and flattening his ears. "It's an invitation to fight."

**A/N2****:** Again, sorry for shortness. And hopefully, the next chapter will come out much more quickly –and have lots of action! :D So…yeah. Reviews, please! They give us authors reason to do what we do!


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